- Joined
- Dec 20, 2025
- Messages
- 10
- Trophy Points
- 200
thread music:
I once reposted an edit of Mr. Bourdain, and had someone (you know who you are
) slide up and ask why I was reposting Epstein.
So I think this might be a good time to advocate for one of my heroes.
WHO WAS HE?
When you type in a quick little Google search, the top description is: "was a renowned American chef, author, and television personality."
His priority was always being a storyteller. Regardless of the medium he chose. He started as a writer in a chef's body, attributing his writing inspiration to George Orwell. After taking a literary workshop, he wrote two articles that didn't garner any attention. 42. A recovering heroin addict. A long history of working for failed restaurants. He didn't look like anyone you would consider a role model. He kept writing when any sane person would have quit. Around 1999, a short article he wrote about his experience in the restaurant industry (intended for his coworkers) titled Don't Eat Before You Read This was published in the New Yorker. This caught people's eyes, and he went on to continue creating like the visionary he was.
---- sidenote, many people attribute his success to nepotism. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain
His career didn't fall out of the sky, but it helped that his connections were quite vast. His seriousness to his writing career shouldn't be undermined by the regular imposter syndrome that any regular human gets. He wouldn't have gotten to where he was without hard work.
He had a couple of shows, his first being A Cook's Tour. It was a bit more nitty-gritty compared to the productions he would later go on to do.
No Reservations, Parts Unknown, and The Layover came after that.
He is the blueprint. Someone called Bourdain an anthropologist without a degree. Maybe a sociologist. He’s very astute in his observations of society, people, and politics. He’s an observer and an intellectual, with enough disillusionment thrown in to be a rebel and a punk (as in punk rock). But he cleaned up well and was always a gracious guest, so he wasn’t punk in a juvenile sense. What helped people connect with him was that, even though he had a classically trained French background, he wasn't particularly prestigious and preferred the hole-in-the-wall spots. Grandma's cooking, cultural dishes, and the classics spoke to him best. He obviously still appreciated some high edge michelin stuff, but he found a way to articulate his thoughts in a manner that anyone could appreciate, regardless of social status.
His hangover cure:
He was himself and wasn't afraid of it. It's refreshing to see someone share some valuable experience, as compared with influencers like Alix Earle, who have billionaire parents and tickets to St Tropez every summer.
Anthony had a sense of humanity like no other; he stood for Palestine even as a jew although raised without religion. He had an episode filmed on Palestinian and Israeli cultures, and still wasn't afraid to hold back. He never told what he disliked about the food, but shared what it means to the people who eat it. Respect without discrimination.
He inspired people (me) to travel and experience the world. He also taught us more about personal style than you think, afterall it is stylish to speak with honesty and humility.
Bourdain was also depressed. Success will never be immune to depression. He was an unwilling participant in life. That might be why I relate to him so deeply. But like my other hero, Jeff Buckley, he didn't choose to make other people's lives miserable in the process of living his own. Self-awareness is a double-edged sword, and in the end, his negative thoughts won. We lost Bourdain to suicide on June 8, 2018. But his legacy will forever live on.
now that we have all of the introductions out of the way...
I want to share some of my favorite lessons by him.
wandering
There's no happy ending. It's all about creating happy moments while experiencing, while living.
Always make sure to advocate and move as fast as you can, as far as you can.
Open your mind, get off the couch, move. depression can't hit a moving target.
Nobody is going to save you, so don't let yourself wallow in perpetual "what if" scenarios instead of acting. Nobody sees your potential until you finally achieve it.
Life was never about the ending but the journey.
Be kinder to yourself.
We are attracted to the rare because we believe rare things have more value. It's rare to actually respect yourself, so it's a good practice to develop self-boundaries and learning to accept all parts, good and bad. Stop tying your happiness to how something turns out. Try not to take things personally. It will strengthen all of your relationships if you replace all that hate with love
Skills can be taught, character you either have or you don't.
People with good character choose to do the right thing regardless of the cost.
Stop letting safe be your default.
There's something you've always wanted to do but keep putting off. Your fear is killing you. Its so much easier to give up than to embrace the unknown, try and fail. The price of a meaningful life is the murder of your identity. Whatever doesn't serve you has to go. The root of human struggle is worrying about other people's perceptions of who you are. Stop fighting authenticity. Vulnerability is scary, but that's the point. Be scared.
It's never too late to begin.
"A dumb person has an advantage over the smart person: the dumb person is satisfied within himself."
- Napoleon
You have to take advantage of the limited time you have.
☆ do better
★ start over
☆ love yourself
★ change
☆ cut your losses
★ make health a priority
☆ get your life together
★ believe in something again
If I had let that little voice win, I wouldn't have been able to love a sport I hated as a kid. I wouldn't have gotten that internship. I wouldn't have met any of you. If you keep at nothing, you will become nothing. That is the last thing you should want.
Be hard to kill.
I mean in terms of humanity. Resistance. Mentality. Love. Let yourself have a life worth living. "It takes strength to be gentle and kind."
Ask yourself if this is the life you want, or one you were pressured into? You can choose to change. That choice will define the rest of your life. You should be scared to want everything but do nothing at all to achieve it. Fear is based on consequences. People are more consistent when they know their limits. Push those boundaries until you can't anymore.
Failure is a privilege.
The most successful people you know have failed over and over again and succeeded because their failures didn't define them, but taught them a lesson. Don't let that window of opportunity close.
Humans have an ego. You need to risk the temporary loss of your sense of self and overcome ego death to reach fulfillment.
An average life is one filled with regret.
"Go somewhere you've never been," not necessarily travel, just something that brings you out of your comfort zone. Staying comfortable is where your dreams die. It arrives as a sentence you hear one day, and you can't undo it. "What if I tried?" regret. Give yourself the gift of experiencing everything (legal) once. The best souvenir is the story you keep on telling.
Remember, you need to learn to quit coping and to send that victim mentality to hell.
Even though most of this is water, these are some simple rules to live by.
let go, let god.
credits:
--- all images are from Pinterest
I once reposted an edit of Mr. Bourdain, and had someone (you know who you are
) slide up and ask why I was reposting Epstein.So I think this might be a good time to advocate for one of my heroes.
WHO WAS HE?
When you type in a quick little Google search, the top description is: "was a renowned American chef, author, and television personality."
His priority was always being a storyteller. Regardless of the medium he chose. He started as a writer in a chef's body, attributing his writing inspiration to George Orwell. After taking a literary workshop, he wrote two articles that didn't garner any attention. 42. A recovering heroin addict. A long history of working for failed restaurants. He didn't look like anyone you would consider a role model. He kept writing when any sane person would have quit. Around 1999, a short article he wrote about his experience in the restaurant industry (intended for his coworkers) titled Don't Eat Before You Read This was published in the New Yorker. This caught people's eyes, and he went on to continue creating like the visionary he was.
---- sidenote, many people attribute his success to nepotism. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain
His career didn't fall out of the sky, but it helped that his connections were quite vast. His seriousness to his writing career shouldn't be undermined by the regular imposter syndrome that any regular human gets. He wouldn't have gotten to where he was without hard work.
He had a couple of shows, his first being A Cook's Tour. It was a bit more nitty-gritty compared to the productions he would later go on to do.
No Reservations, Parts Unknown, and The Layover came after that.
He is the blueprint. Someone called Bourdain an anthropologist without a degree. Maybe a sociologist. He’s very astute in his observations of society, people, and politics. He’s an observer and an intellectual, with enough disillusionment thrown in to be a rebel and a punk (as in punk rock). But he cleaned up well and was always a gracious guest, so he wasn’t punk in a juvenile sense. What helped people connect with him was that, even though he had a classically trained French background, he wasn't particularly prestigious and preferred the hole-in-the-wall spots. Grandma's cooking, cultural dishes, and the classics spoke to him best. He obviously still appreciated some high edge michelin stuff, but he found a way to articulate his thoughts in a manner that anyone could appreciate, regardless of social status.
His hangover cure:
He was himself and wasn't afraid of it. It's refreshing to see someone share some valuable experience, as compared with influencers like Alix Earle, who have billionaire parents and tickets to St Tropez every summer.
Anthony had a sense of humanity like no other; he stood for Palestine even as a jew although raised without religion. He had an episode filmed on Palestinian and Israeli cultures, and still wasn't afraid to hold back. He never told what he disliked about the food, but shared what it means to the people who eat it. Respect without discrimination.
He inspired people (me) to travel and experience the world. He also taught us more about personal style than you think, afterall it is stylish to speak with honesty and humility.
Bourdain was also depressed. Success will never be immune to depression. He was an unwilling participant in life. That might be why I relate to him so deeply. But like my other hero, Jeff Buckley, he didn't choose to make other people's lives miserable in the process of living his own. Self-awareness is a double-edged sword, and in the end, his negative thoughts won. We lost Bourdain to suicide on June 8, 2018. But his legacy will forever live on.
now that we have all of the introductions out of the way...
I want to share some of my favorite lessons by him.
wandering
There's no happy ending. It's all about creating happy moments while experiencing, while living.
Always make sure to advocate and move as fast as you can, as far as you can.
Open your mind, get off the couch, move. depression can't hit a moving target.
Nobody is going to save you, so don't let yourself wallow in perpetual "what if" scenarios instead of acting. Nobody sees your potential until you finally achieve it.
Life was never about the ending but the journey.
Be kinder to yourself.
We are attracted to the rare because we believe rare things have more value. It's rare to actually respect yourself, so it's a good practice to develop self-boundaries and learning to accept all parts, good and bad. Stop tying your happiness to how something turns out. Try not to take things personally. It will strengthen all of your relationships if you replace all that hate with love
Skills can be taught, character you either have or you don't.
People with good character choose to do the right thing regardless of the cost.
Stop letting safe be your default.
There's something you've always wanted to do but keep putting off. Your fear is killing you. Its so much easier to give up than to embrace the unknown, try and fail. The price of a meaningful life is the murder of your identity. Whatever doesn't serve you has to go. The root of human struggle is worrying about other people's perceptions of who you are. Stop fighting authenticity. Vulnerability is scary, but that's the point. Be scared.
It's never too late to begin.
"A dumb person has an advantage over the smart person: the dumb person is satisfied within himself."
- Napoleon
You have to take advantage of the limited time you have.
☆ do better
★ start over
☆ love yourself
★ change
☆ cut your losses
★ make health a priority
☆ get your life together
★ believe in something again
If I had let that little voice win, I wouldn't have been able to love a sport I hated as a kid. I wouldn't have gotten that internship. I wouldn't have met any of you. If you keep at nothing, you will become nothing. That is the last thing you should want.
Be hard to kill.
I mean in terms of humanity. Resistance. Mentality. Love. Let yourself have a life worth living. "It takes strength to be gentle and kind."
Ask yourself if this is the life you want, or one you were pressured into? You can choose to change. That choice will define the rest of your life. You should be scared to want everything but do nothing at all to achieve it. Fear is based on consequences. People are more consistent when they know their limits. Push those boundaries until you can't anymore.
Failure is a privilege.
The most successful people you know have failed over and over again and succeeded because their failures didn't define them, but taught them a lesson. Don't let that window of opportunity close.
Humans have an ego. You need to risk the temporary loss of your sense of self and overcome ego death to reach fulfillment.
An average life is one filled with regret.
"Go somewhere you've never been," not necessarily travel, just something that brings you out of your comfort zone. Staying comfortable is where your dreams die. It arrives as a sentence you hear one day, and you can't undo it. "What if I tried?" regret. Give yourself the gift of experiencing everything (legal) once. The best souvenir is the story you keep on telling.
Remember, you need to learn to quit coping and to send that victim mentality to hell.
Even though most of this is water, these are some simple rules to live by.
let go, let god.
credits:
--- all images are from Pinterest
